Sorting machine



June 4, 1935. P. RIEGER 2,003,790

SORTING MACHINE Filed Aug. 19, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l I W em 'IIIIIIIIIIIMIIIMMIMIIIIIIII INVENTOR 0 9 mm n 2 3 t Flt m w 2 r mm v e e m 2 w E R m m EW GAl Pm EM. G Rmwu M mw A S1 0 H 0 final- June 4, 1935.

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INVENTOR ATTORNEY tistlcal reports, like Patented June 4, 1935 UNITED STATES SOBTING MACHINE Paul Bleger, Frankfort "Signor Machine Corporation to International on-the-lhin- Bulinm New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 19, In Germany 1- 11 Claims. I

This invention relates to record controlled machines, particularly machines adapted to be controlled by the perforated records used in well known systems of compiling accounting and stathe Hollerith system, for example.

It is often desirable to provide record controlled machines, such as tabulating machines and sorting machines, with devices or mechanisms for selecting only records having predetermined data designations, such as groups of designations representing serial numbers, control numbers of various sorts, classification numbers, and the like, which records are to have preferential treatment of some kind. As an illustration, it may be desired to remove from a batch of records all those having perforations representing a given classification number, the records bearing the given number being indiscriminately located in the batch. In the past a number of such devices have been developed for use in connection with tabulating machines, sorting machines, and the like, and have functioned more or less successfully. The prior devices, however, have a very limited practical capacity since they all require at least one complete selecting device for each column in the records and considerations of cost and size prohibit the equipping of record controlled machines with selecting devices capable of operating upon more than a small fraction of the num ber of columns in a record. When, for example, the selecting devices of the prior art are built in sizes suitable for operating upon ten or twelve columns of the records, that is, are capable of selecting records having predetermined designations in twelve columns, as a twelve digit serial number, such selecting devices are necessarily very cumbersome, have a large number of duplicated and intricate moving parts, and are expensive to build.

In practical everyday use, the large number of working parts results in a high maintenance cost and multiplies the chances of errors of selection due to poor lubrication, dirt, moisture, and other unfavorable conditions which are always found in complicated machines of all kinds.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved selecting device the capacity of which can be increased practically without limit and without requiring an increase in the number of moving parts.

A more specific object is to provide a selecting device which comprises a simple control mechanism of rugged construction and having an invariable timing.

1933. Serial No. ebruary 20, 1933 Another specific object is to provide a selecting device the capacity of which may be increased at will by a simple electrical plugging or switching operation.

Another specific object is to provide a simple selecting device capable of functioning successfully under control of perforations in columns which are separated from each other by unused columns or column containing numerical data, in other words, perforations in scattered columns or scattered groups of columns.

A further specific object is to provide a selecting device which includes a single series of control elements, such as switching devices, corresponding to the index-point positions of a single each control element beduring a single machine cycle the selection of records according to perforations in a plurality of columns of the record.

A further object is to provide a selecting device of simple construction and unlimited capacity which avoids the use of the complicated mechanical and electrical analyzing mechanisms, switching mechanisms, and the like, which are essential parts of prior devices of this nature.

Another object is to provide a selecting device which has a single cylindrical commutator of simple construction as its only moving part.

Various other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will be pointed out in the following specification and claims, or will be apparent from a study thereof and of the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a portion of a sorting machine in which the invention may be embodied;

Fig. 2 is a diagram of the electrical connections of the invention.

Sorting machines of the electrically controlled type are very simple in construction and operation and for these reasons a well known type of sorting machine known in the art as the International" electric sorting machine may be very conveniently used to explain the construction and operation of the invention. It is desired to point out at this point, however, that the invention is capable of many uses other than those described herein and, in fact, is generally useful in record controlled machines and, in explaining the invention by showing how it may be embodied in a well known type of machine, there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form or use de scribed or the kind of machine illustrated.

The "International electric sorting machine 2| is caught by feed rollers gearing to shaft 28 and by is now well known in the art and its various details of construction are disclosed in a number of patents of which Nos. 1,741,985 and 1,741,992 show most of the general details of the machine as it is known to commerce. Since the aforesaid patents are very detailed, it will be unnecessary to give more than a very brief description of the general features of construction herein. The patents should be consulted for a fuller description.

A batch of records which may consist of H01- lerith cards 28 (Fig. 1) is placed in the usual magazine and removed one at a time by a picker 2| on a slide 22 actuated by means of arms like 23, the latter being fixed to a shaft 24 journalled in the framework. A link 25 pivoted to one of the arms 23, is also pivoted to a crank pin 23 carried by a crank 21 on a shaft (not shown) which is driven at the rate of one revolution per record cycle through suitable spiral gearing connecting the said shaft and the main drive shaft 28. The latter is shown in broken lines in Pig. 1. Each record removed from the magazine by the picker 23 driven by spiral said rollers is fed to the left past the usual sensing brush 38 which co-acts with the usual metallic contact roll 3i to sense data designating holes in the records.

As the record passes beneath the sensing brush 38 it also passes over a plate 32 and beneath the upturned ends of the guide blades 33 leading to the usual receiving pockets (not shown) of which thirteen may be provided, twelve to correspond with the usual twelve possible index-point positions in the columns of the records, and one for records having no hole in the particular column sensed by the brush 38. The latter pocket is commonly termed the reject pocket. The plate 32 forms the armature of the usual sorting magnet 34. Suitable feed rollers like 35, driven by the shaft 28 through suitable spiral gears, serve to convey the records to the various pockets selected by operation of magnet 34 in the well known manner, such records being guided to the appropriate pockets by the guide blades 33.

The plate 32 is normally held up by a spring but will be drawn downwardly a certain amount whenever magnet 34 is energized. The ends of the blades 33 are so disposed relative to the brush 38 that when, for example, a 3" hole in the record is sensed, the leading edge of the record in which such hole appears will occupy a position about half way between the end of the blade 33 leading to the 3" pocket and the end of the blade leading to the 2" pocket. At this time energization of the magnet 34 as a consequence of the hole sensed by brush 38 will cause the record having the 3 hole to be guided to the 3" pocket, since all blades to the right of the 2" blade will be held up by the record while the 2 blade and all other blades to the left will be allowed to drop causing a gap between the 2 and 3 blades into which gap the record having the 3" hole will pass and will be conveyed by rollers 35 to the "3 pocket.

The sorting brush 30 is ordinarily mounted on a removable brush holder 38 (Fig. 1) and may be positioned to cooperate with any desired column in the record by mechanism described in Patent No. 1,741,992. The brush 38 is connected to the right hand line wire 31 (Fig. 2) through the usual brush relay 38 and sorting magnet 34 in series. Coacting with the contact roll 3| is a fixed brush 33 which is connected to the common terminal of a two way switch 48, one of the terminals of which is connected to the sorting brush 38, and the other terminal is connected to the brush 4i cooperating with the twelve segments of the usual selecting commutator 42 described in detail in Patent No. 1,741,985. The common brush 43 of commutator 42 is, as in the patent, connected to left-hand line wire 44. The common contact ring with which brush 43 coacts is provided with a conducting segment 45 with which coacts a brush 48 connected to one of the contacts 38a of relay 38, the other contact of said relay being connected to the coin of the relay as shown in Fig. 2.

When the switch 48 is in the position indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2, disregarding for the moment the circuit shunting the magnet 34, the machine is conditioned for sorting records in the normal manner. Assuming that commutator 42 has been manually adjusted to sort records in accordance with holes in all twelve of the index point positions of the record columns by first making all the segments current conducting as described in Patent No. 1,741,985, the operation will be as follows: When, let us say, a 3" hole is sensed in a record, a circuit will be set up from left line wire 44, brush 43, the 3 segment of commutator 42, brush 4|, switch 48, brush 38, contact roll 3i, brush 38 through the 3" hole in the record, and the windings of brush relay 38 and sorting magnet 34 to right hand line wire 31. Energization of sorting magnet 34 causes the record having the 3" hole to be guided to the 3 pocket as described before herein. Energization of brush relay 38 establishes a holding circuit for itself and sorting magnet 34 through the contacts 38a of the brush relay and the segment 45 of the selecting commutator. After the brush 38 has sensed the last index point position of each card, the segment 45 breaks the circuit through brush 48 and deenergizes brush relay 38 and sorting maget 34 in readiness for analysis of the next succeeding record. The segment 45 is of such length that while records are being fed no circuit can be established through commutator 42 when the gap between records is passing the brush 38. It is clear that no circuit can be established through the relay 38 and sorting magnet 34 except when the brush 30 is operating in the zone in which holes may appear in the records.

The foregoing constitutes a very brief description of the construction and operation of the more essential elements of the sorting machine well known to commerce as the International".

In order to accomplish the objects of this invention there is provided a control commutator 41, a developed view of the surface of which is shown in Fig. 2. This commutator may comprise a cylindrical drum of metal which is driven at the rate of one revolution per card cycle by any suitable connections to one of the various shafts of the machine as, for instance, the main drive shaft 28 (Fig. l). Mounted on the drum and flush with the surface thereof are twelve control elements 48 of insulating material and having any suitable shape as, for instance, small rectangular glass inserts secured in suitable holes or recesses in the drum 41. Each element 48 corresponds to one of the index point positions of a column on a record. The control elements 48 are disposed spirally on the surface of the drum in such a manner that no two are in line or overlap in either an axial or a circumferential direction.

A row of thirteen electrical sensing brushes is provided twelve being designated 43 and the aooa oo other 490 all of which bear on the surface of the drum. The 13th brush 49a is connected by a wire 58 to the brush 46 while the other twelve brushes 49 are so disposed that each is adapted to sense the passage of one of the inserts 48 when the drum is rotating, The inserts 48 are so disposed circumferentially of the drum 41 that each time the brush 4| bears on a segment corresponding to a given index point position in the record columns a corresponding one of the brushes 49 will rest on its associated control element 48. For instance, when the brush 4| is resting on the segment corresponding to the 8 index point position, one of the brushes 49 (the second brush from the top, Fig. 2) will rest on its associated element 48 thereby insulating that particular brush 49. In other words, as the brush 4| moves over the segments of commutator 42 in the normal order which is the 9" segment first and the |2" segment last, the brushes 49 will be successively insulated in the same order, which is from top to bottom in Fig. 2.

Each brush 49 which coacts with an element 48 is connected to a plug socket 5| in a suitable plug board and the point in the cycle at which each brush is insulated is indicated in Fig. 2 by a small numeral above and to the right of each plug socket 5|. These numerals also correspond to the index point positions in the record columns. Thus, the top plug socket 5| adjacent the small numeral 9 is connected to the brush 49 which is insulated at the 9 index point position in each cycle. It is obvious that, in effect, each element 48 and its brush 49 constitutes a switching device which interrupts the circuit through wire 59 when brush 4| is resting on the segment corresponding to a given index point position.

As was stated before, the brush 30 is mounted in a removable brush holder 36. When records are to be selected according to serial numbers, classification data, and the like, the brush holder 36 will be removed and another brush holder substituted. The latter will be provided with as many sensing brushes 52 (Fig. 2) as may be desired, the number being limited only by the number of columns in the records. The usual Hollerith cards may have 34, 45, or 80 columns, the last two being the most commonly used. Each brush 52 is connected, as by means of a wire in a suitable flexible cable to a double plug socket 53 individual to that brush, the rows of plug sockets 5|, 53 being disposed adjacent each other on the plugboard.

It will be assumed hereinafter that 45 column cards are being used and that 45 sensing brushes 52 are provided. The column with which each brush coacts is indicated in Fig. 2 by a small numeral above and to the right of each brush.

As an alternative to the above construction, the machine may have the brushes 52 permanently mounted therein and the brush 38 replaced by a plug socket which can be connected by means of a suitable plug wire to any of the plug sockets 53 in order to sort records in the normal manner. When so constructed, the removable brush holder and the mechanism for shifting the brush from one column to another described in Patent No. 1,741,992, will be dispensed with.

The drum. includes a ring or segment 54 of conducting material which is insulated from the main portion of the drum carrying the elements 48 and this segment has a recess or notch in which is mounted a strip of insulating material 55. A pair of brushes 56 bears on the surface of the ring 54 and is so disposed that one of them will be insulated by the strip 55 from the point corresponding to the |2" position in one card cycle to a point just before the "9 position of the next succeeding card cycle. The brushes 56 are connected to the terminals of the sorting magnet 34 through a switch 51. The brushes 56 are also connected to the terminals of a condenser 53 whose function is to prevent arcing at the brushes 56 when the shunt circuit around sorting magnet 34 caused by contact of both brushes 56 with the ring 54 is broken at the |2" position of each cycle. The switch 51 is opened when normal sorting operations are to be performed and closed when the special sorting operation is performed.

The operation of the machine to select from a .given batch of records only those having predetermined perforations in a number of columns devoted to class, numbers, group numbers, serial numbers, or the like, will now be described in detail.

It will be assumed that the second and third columns of the card bear an employee's number; the 23rd to 26th columns, inclusive, a job number; while columns 41 to 44 contain an account number and that all cards bearing the complete data comprising Employee No. 73, Job No. 3556, and Account No. 6357, are to be segregated in a single sorting pocket separate from the others.

The holes representing the above numbers will be disposed in the various columns of the records as follows:

The first step is to examine the various numbers to ascertain the numbers of the columns in which the same digit appears. Inspection shows that the digit 3" appears in columns 3, 23, 24, and 42, therefore plug wires 59 are inserted be.- tween the plug sockets 53 corresponding to all the columns in which a 3"appears and also between one of such plug sockets and the plug socket 5| corresponding to the 3 index point position of each cycle. By this operation, the brushes 52 of all columns in which a 3 appears are virtually connected to the brush 49 sensing the element 48 at the 3 index point position of each cycle. The digit 5 appears in columns 25 and 43, consequently the plug sockets 53 for these columns are connected together and to the plug socket 5| corresponding to the 5" index point position by means of plug wires 68.

The plug sockets 53 of the 26th and 41st columns will likewise be connected by plug wires 6| to the plug socket 5| corresponding to the 6" index point position while the plug sockets 53 for the 2nd and 44th columns will be connected by plug wires 62 to plug socket 5| corresponding to the 1" position. The switch 49 is placed in the position of Fig. 2 and switch 51 is closed. The regular sorting brush is removed and the brush holder for brushes 52 substituted. The machine is now ready for the special sorting operation. The records are placed in the magazine in the usual manner, that is, face down with the 9" index point positions nearest feed rollers 29, and the machine is started in the manner described in Patent No. 1,741,985 so that the first record is fed past the brushes 52 (replacing brush in Fig. 1).

Assuming that the first record relates to Employee No. '73, Job No. 3356, and Account No. 6357, the brushes 52 in the 2nd and 44th columns will sense 1" holes before any of the other brushes which have been plugged to the brushes 49 sense holes, thus both said brushes will close parallel circuits from line 31, through brushes 55 and segment 54, switch 51, brush relay 35, switch 40, brush 39, contact roll 3|, brushes 52 of the 2nd and 44th columns, plug sockets 53 of those columns, plug wires 62, plug socket 5| corresponding to the 1 index point position, to brush 49 sensing the element corresponding to the 1 index point position. Since at the 1 position oi each cycle the element 48 corresponding to that index point position in the record insulates its coacting brush 49 from the conducting part of the commutator, no current can flow when the two 1 holes in the 2nd and 44th columns of the first card are sensed by the brushes 53 coacting with those columns. It is clear therefore that the brush relay 38 cannot be energized at the 1" position of the first card cycle.

The brushes 52 of the 26th and 41st column next sense the holes in the 5 index point positions in such columns but this time the parallel circuits are established, through the plug wires 6| and the brushes 52 of the above two columns and the plug socket 5| corresponding to the 6 position of the cycle, to the brush 4!! coacting with the element 48 corresponding to the 5 index point position. The latter element insulates its brush 49 at the 5 point in the cycle so that, as before, no current can fiow through brush relay 3!.

The same action takes place when the 5" holes in the 25th and 43rd columns and the 3 'holes in the 3rd, 23rd, 24th and 42nd columns are sensed successively by the brushes 52 in these columns, the parallel circuits established for the two groups of holes extending through plug wires and 59 to the brushes 49 sensing the elements 48 corresponding to the 5 and 3 index point positions, respectively. As was the case with the 1 and 5 groups of holes, no current will be permitted to flow since the elements 45 corresponding to the 5" and 3 index point positions insulate their respective brushes 49 at the "5 and 3 positions of the first record cycle.

It is quite clear that none of the 1 holes in columns 2 and 44, the 6" holes in columns 25 and 4|, the 5 holes in columns 25 and 43, and the 3 holes in columns 3, 23, 24, and 42 can establish a circuit through brush relay 35 since the four brushes 49 corresponding to the 'I, 5", 5, and 3 index point positions are all insulated by the related elements 48 at the foregoing four points in the cycle. Thus, when in the i2 position of the first record cycle, the strip of insulating material becomes operative to insulate one of the brushes 55 and break the circuit shunting sorting magnet 34, the latter will not be energized. As a result, the first record will be guided to the usual reject pocket.

It will now be assumed that the second record difi'ers in some respect from the first record in one or more of the columns devoted to the employee, job, and account numbers, for instance the second record may relate to Employee No. 93, the job and account numbers being the same. The 9" hole will appear in column 2 and will be sensed by the brush 52 corresponding to this column at a time in the cycle when element 45 corresponding to the "1" index point position is not under its coacting brush 49. A circuit will be established and current will flow at the 9" point in the cycle as follows: line wire 31, brushes 56 and segment 54, switch 51, brush relay 38, switch 45, brush 39, contact roll 3|, brush 52 and plug socket 53 corresponding to the 2nd column, both plug wires 62 connected by the double plug socket 53 corresponding to column 44, plug socket 5| and brush 49 corresponding to the 1 index point position, the conducting portion of commutator 41, the brush 49a, wire 55, brush 45, segment 45, and brush 43, to the line wire 44. The brush relay will be energized, closing its contacts 38a to set up a holding circuit for itself extending from line wire 31, brushes 56 and segment 54, the winding of the brush relay and its contacts 35a, brush 45, segment 45 and brush 43, to line wire 44. This holding circuit is maintained from the 9 point in the cycle to the i2 point in the cycle where the shunt circuit around the sorting magnet is broken by the insulating strip 55. As current is still flowing through the relay 38 at the l2 point in the second record cycle the sorting magnet will be energized causing the second card to be guided to the l2 pocket.

The foregoing action takes place in every case where a record differs from the predetermined data in one or more columns as in such cases one or more of the brushes 49 will not be insulated. Thus, if a 3 hole instead of a 5 hole had been present in a record under brush 52 of column 4|, a circuit would be established, through brush 49 corresponding to the 6 index point position at the 3 point in the cycle since at this time brush 49 would not be insulated. If several differences occur together, the hole having the highest numerical value would establish the circuit through the sorting magnet, except in the case of I I or |2 holes which would establish circuits near the end of the cycle.

It is not essential that a commutator like that shown in Fig. 2 be used as, for example, the commutator 41 and brushes 49 can be replaced by equivalent means such as a series of cams, each corresponding to a different index point position and timed to jbpen contacts momentarily at the time in the'cycle when a hole in that index point position is sensed by a brush 52. Obviously the contacts controlled by cams in the foregoing manner would be connected individually to the plug sockets 5| and also to the wire 50. The segment 54 and brushes 56 would also be replaced by cam contacts which open at the I2 position and reclose before the "9" position. This modification is so simple as to not need a detailed description or illustration in the drawings.

The most important features of the invention are its flexibility, practically unlimited capacity, its simplicity, and the adaptability for installation on existing machines without extensive, or in fact, any material alteration of such machines.

The invention is considerably more flexible than prior devices of similar nature because any number of sensing brushes 52 can be plugged at will to any brush 49 irrespective of whether the columns coacting with a given number of brushes 52 are scattered over the face of the record or are collected in a group consisting of a continuous field on the record. Furthermore, the brushes 5! can be arbitrarily arranged in groups regardless of the location of the columns sensed by such brushes, that is, whether such columns are scattered over the face of the record or are collected in groups comprising separate fields each representing a different number or arbitrary data, and each of such arbitrarily arranged groups can be plugged to any of the brushes 4!. Prior machines were somewhat inflexible of operation as they were in many cases limited to operation under control of perforations in a fixed field comprising a collected or continuous group of columns in the record, although the operator could position the analyzer to coact with any number of columns in the record collected together as a continuous field and not exceeding the limited capacity of the analyzer. In other words, if the prior device had, for example, a maximum capacity for selection of eight digits represented by holes in eight columns, its analyzer could be positioned to sense any group of eight columns comprising a continuous field but part of such analyzer could not be positioned to sense several columns in one part of a record and another part of the analyzer positioned to sense several c01- umns outside the sphere of activity of the analyzer. Flexibility would be limited in such a case to the eight columns within the sphere of activity of the eight-column analyzer, that is, eight columns collected together as a continuous field.

Another phase 01' the feature of flexibility is the ability of the invention to select cards according to arbitrary data in several widely separated fields or scattered columns on the records. Thus, in the illustrative example the invention successfully selects according to the employee's number in a field comprising columns 2 and 3, the job number in the field including columns 23 to 26, and the account number in the field including columns ll to N.

In prior machines the records would have to be sorted at least three difierent times to secure the above result, due to the separation of the three fields from each other. The first sorting operation might select all records numbered '73, the second all records numbered 3356, and the third all records numbered 6357, in the respective fields. This is accomplished by the present invention in one continuous sorting operation and by much simpler means;

Obviously the invention is simpler since it consists mainly of a single commutator, or equivalent switching device or devices, which is not of intricate construction and a few plug sockets and brushes, whereas prior devices consist of many duplicate and intricate moving parts which must be carefully adjusted, or, at best, comprise a large number of switches or other devices each individual to an index point in the columns within the spheres of activity of the analyzers of the prior devices. The simple construction of the invention results in low cost of manufacture and installation on existing machines besides making the invention more adaptable for installation on existing machines.

The invention is capable of being used in record-controlled machines in general and is not limited to use in sorting machines. Thus, the invention could be installed in a tabulating machine in which case the magnet 34 would be arranged to operate a sorting blade permitting only the selected cards to control the machine and vice versa, or the magnet 34 could control the operations 01 the printing and/or accumulating mechanism of the tabulating machine as will be readily perceived by those skilled in the art. It is intended, therefore, that the following claims shall not be limited to either the specific construction described or to embodiment of the invention in the type oi machine selected for purposes of description, but that the claims shall be construed as broadly as is permitted by the prior ar What is claimed is:

1. A selecting device for record controlled machines, comprising a plurality oi. record analyzing devices each adapted to sense data designations in a single column of the control records, a single rotary control device having a single series of difierently timed control elements corresponding to the index-point positions of a single column of the control record, and means for connecting any number oi said analyzing devices to one of said elements.

2. A selecting device for record controlled machines, comprising a plurality of sensing brushes each adapted to sense data designations in a single column of the control records, a rotary commutator device having a single series of differently timed control elements corresponding to the index-point positions of a single column of the control record, and means for at will connecting any number of said analyzing brushes as a group to one of said control elements.

3. A selecting device for record controlled machines, comprising a plurality of analyzing devices each adapted to sense data designations in a single column of the control records, a single series of diiferently timed control elements each corresponding to one of the index-point positions of a single column, and means for at will operatively connecting a single control element to a plurality of the analyzing devices. i

4. A selecting device for record controlled machines comprising a plurality of sensing elements each adapted to sense data designations in a single column of the control records; a single series of control elements, each corresponding to a predetermined index-point position of a single column of the control records, each of said control elements being adapted to render any sensing element to which said control element may be operatively connected inoperative in the predetermined index-point position and operative in all other index-point positions, and means for at will connecting at least two of the sensing elements to a predetermined one of said control elements irrespective of the position on the record of the two columns corresponding to the selected sensing elements.

5. A selecting device for record controlled machines, comprising a plurality of sensing brushes adapted to sense a plurality of columns of the control records; a single series of control circuits corresponding to the different index-point positions of a single column of the control records, each of said circuits having a switching device adapted to momentarily interrupt its control circuit at the corresponding index-point position whereby to render ineifective the sensing of a data designation in that index-point position by a sensing brush to which said circuit may be connected, and means for at will connecting a predetermined one of said circuits to any number of said sensing brushes.

6. A selecting device for record controlled machines operating in cycles of fixed duration; comprising a record analyzer having a plurality of columnar analyzing positions each adapted to sense data designations in a single column of the control records, a single series of control elements each operative at a different time in each cycle to render the analyzer ineffective in a predetermined index-point position of a single column, and means for at will operatively connecting any selected number of columnar analyzing positions to a predetermined one of said control elements whereby to render the analyzer inefiective in corresponding index-point positions of a plurality of columns.

7. A selecting device for record controlled ma chines, comprising a plurality of electrical sensing elements adapted to sense data designations in a plurality of columns of the controlling records, including receptacles for plug wires each individual to a sensing element; a single series of switching devices each operative to control the operation of a sensing element at a different index-point position of a single column, including plug receptacles, each individual to one of said devices; and plug wires for arbitrarily and at will connecting any number of the sensing elements to a selected one of the control devices through said plug receptacles.

8. A selecting device for record controlled machines operable in cycles, comprising a single series of machine operated switching devices each operable at a point in each cycle different from the points of operation of the other switching devices, said switching devices corresponding to the different index-point positions of a controlling record; means for sensing data designations in the various columns of the records; and means for at will operatively connecting a selected switching device to one or more columns of the record cards through said sensing means.

9. A selecting device for record controlled machines operating in cycles, comprising a single series of switching devices each including a sensing brush and a machine operated element both cooperating at a fixed point in each cycle different from the points of cooperation of the other switching devices, each switching device corresponding to a different index-point position of a single column on the control records; and means for at will connecting any selected switching device to more than one column of the records for control purposes.

10. A selecting device for record controlled machines, comprising a cylindrical drum of electric current conducting material, a single series oi control elements composed of insulating material and mounted in said drum, and a corresponding series of electrical sensing brushes bearing on the drum and disposed to sense the passage of said elements at different times in the cycle of operation of the drum whereby said brushes are progressively insulated from said drum in a sequence corresponding to the indexpoint positions of the control records.

11. A selector device for record controlled machines such as sorters and tabulators wherein machine operations are controlled by perforated record cards through a plurality of card reading elements, each element being associated with a column of index-point positions in the records, comprising a single series of selecting elements corresponding in numerical value of selection to the index-point positions of any single column, and means to connect a selecting element of predetermined value to a plurality of the card reading elements whereby to exercise a selection over cards having holes corresponding in the selected columns to the value of the predetermined selecting element, and a machine cont-r01 device controlled by the selecting elements.

1 PAUL RIEGER. 

